Fractionation analysis of some heavy metals in sediments of the north-western part of the Red Sea, Egypt

Sequential extraction was used to study operationally determined chemical forms (exchangeable, carbonate, reducible metal, oxidisable metal and the residual fractions) of the metals Cd, Cu, Zn and Pb in sediments from 12 sample sites collected from the north-western part of the Red Sea, where improper recreational facilities have resulted in diverse impacts on the coastal environments fronting some of the recreation projects. The results showed that the average percentage of each phase was different among metal types; the residual binding fraction was the most important phase for binding Zn and to a lesser degree Cu. The reducible fraction was the second most important phase for Zn and Cu. For Pb, the fractions bounded to the residual fractions and the reducible phases are equal and exhibited the highest percentages. By contrast, the carbonate fraction was predominant for Cd. The percentages of Cd, Cu, Zn and Pb associated with the carbonate and exchangeable fractions, which are potentially the most harmful to the environment, were calculated and assessed at different sampling sites of the studied sediments. According to the Risk Assessment Code (RAC), the results reveal that Cd is the only metal that poses a high risk to the environment.